(CNN) -- An Australian man has been arrested for allegedly fathering four children with a daughter he repeatedly raped for more than 30 years, local media reported Thursday.

A display outside a Melbourne shop on Thursday shows rows of The Herald-Sun with its headline story.

The man, in his 60s, began the abuse in the 1970s when the daughter was 11 and continued almost daily until 2007, said the Herald Sun newspaper, which first reported the case.

The assaults resulted in four children, all with birth defects, the paper said. One later died.

Authorities in the southeastern state of Victoria would not confirm details of the case to CNN, citing an overarching court gag order that bars the release of any information that may identify the man.

A clerk with the Melbourne County Court would say only that the man was arrested on charges of rape and incest.

Lisa Neville, Victoria's minister for community services, said her agency is investigating.

"As a parent, this is just a horrific and appalling story," she said. "Court proceedings and a very broad suppression order make it impossible to go to the specifics of the story," she said.

The case has created a stir in the country, with many comparing it to that of Josef Fritzl, the 73-year-old Austrian man who kept his daughter imprisoned in a basement for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

Local media outlets have also compared it to the recent case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was kidnapped from South Lake Tahoe in California at age 11, kept a prisoner for 18 years, and bore two children with her captor.

The suspect in the Australia case denied raping his daughter, but was arrested after DNA tests revealed otherwise, the newspaper said.